1.1K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a 49.7% expected score for White (we're 90% confident it's between 47.3% and 52.2%), based on 1.1K Lichess games.
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Improves with rating: 33% → 54%
Best in Bullet (53%), worst in Rapid (40%)
Click any cell to filter. Green = above 50%, Red = below 50%.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1000-1199 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1200-1399 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1400-1599 | — | — | — | ||
| 1600-1799 | — | — | |||
| 1800-1999 | — | ||||
| 2000-2199 | — | ||||
| 2200-2499 | — | ||||
| 2500+ | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
The Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a 45.9% (90% CI: 43.5%-48.4%) win rate for white, based on 1.1K rated games from Lichess.
The Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line performs best at 2500+ Elo with a 54.2% win rate for white (136 games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Bullet (52.7%) outperforms Rapid (39.5%) by 13.2%. Choose your time control wisely.
The Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a sharpness score of 92.4 (decisive), meaning 92.4% of games end decisively. Average game length is 40 moves.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a 53.5% (90% CI: 46.1%-60.8%) win rate for white, based on 121 Lichess games. Average game length is 36 moves with a 2.9% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a 41.8% (90% CI: 37.6%-46.1%) win rate for white, based on 363 Lichess games. Average game length is 37 moves with a 6.7% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a 45.3% (90% CI: 41.6%-49.1%) win rate for white, based on 476 Lichess games. Average game length is 42 moves with a 9.3% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a 54.2% (90% CI: 47.2%-61.1%) win rate for white, based on 136 Lichess games. Average game length is 49 moves with a 9.8% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a 52.7% (90% CI: 47.3%-58.1%) win rate for white (229 Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.1%.
In Blitz games, the Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line has a 44.7% (90% CI: 41.8%-47.6%) win rate for white (799 Lichess games). Draw rate is 7.8%.
The Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Modern Line is slightly favors black with a 45.9% (90% CI: 43.5%-48.4%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 2500+ Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.